Now King tells PEOPLE her baby boy is “doing amazing,” and the reason she felt compelled to share her family’s story is because she “knew how traumatic the experience was, how much [post-traumatic stress disorder] I had afterwards, and the trauma that I was experiencing before it.”

“It’s because I didn’t know anybody that had gone through it and I didn’t have people to talk to,” says King, who hosted the WEI Beauty Detoxifying Skincare Line luncheon, along with Jamie Chung in Hollywood on Wednesday.

The Hart of Dixie actress revealed Wednesday that her now-13-month-old son Leo Thames underwent “a major heart surgery” — a time she remembers as “terrifying, and traumatic for us as parents, for our family.”

In celebration of his first birthday in July, Swift made a tribute gift donation to Cedars-Sinai in honor of her godson.

“Dear all- at 20 weeks our son was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries AKA TGA. He had a major heart surgery, that was terrifying, and traumatic for us as parents, for our family,” King posted to Instagram alongside an image of the letter from Cedars-Sinai. “Only a few of our best friends knew. I felt that I had to protect him in fear of the unknown, fear he would not make it. We felt isolated & confused.”

The Hart of Dixie star is teaming up with children’s clothing retailer Gardner and the Gang, led by Kristin Nystrom, to design the Gardner and the Gang ♥ Jaime King Collection: a socially and environmentally aware, gender-fluid clothing brand that aims to make children feel empowered and accepted.

“We have set limitations upon our children and babies, whether that be consciously or subconsciously. Somewhere along the line of ‘dos and don’ts,’ we relegated children into little boxes that are so restrictive,” King, 37, tells PEOPLE exclusively of her inspiration behind the collaboration.

The actress and model adds: “Somehow, the world decided that boys belong in blue and girls belong in pink and anything other than that is weird or strange and in some ways frowned upon — as if allowing a boy to wear purple or hot pink is steering them in the wrong direction.”

How have Taylor Swift‘s first six months as a godmother been? “Pretty wild.”

The “Out of the Woods“ singer recently celebrated the half-birthday of godson Leo Thames Newman, along with his mom, Jaime King.

Source: Taylor Swift/Instagram

“Pretty wild that 6 months ago, LT wasn’t even born yet and now he chews on my fingers,” Swift, 36, captioned one Instagram post, of herself with Leo Thames sitting comfortably in her lap (and fingers comfortably in his mouth).

Jaime King knows it isn’t always easy for expectant moms to dress for two, which is why she teamed up with maternity apparel retailer, A Pea in the Pod, to create her own denim line.

“[A Pea in the Pod] is basically what I lived in during my pregnancy,” King, who welcomed her second sonLeo Thames in July, tells PEOPLE. “And I really wanted to create a line, which was a very well-rounded line of denim for women.”

Says King of her LOVE, JAIME For Luxe Essentials Denim collection: “I didn’t want one woman to feel bad in the clothing that they wear so every single item that I designed, I wanted to make sure that it would be beautiful for every single body type. That was something that was really important to me.”

Another key detail for King was having each pair “go with many different types of styles.”

“Because maternity clothes are expensive … [and] it’s an investment, I wanted to make sure that whatever I was making would be something that would transcend through an entire pregnancy and also, beyond after the pregnancy,” she explains.

The actress also credits her firstborn, 22-month-old son James Knight, with helping her shed the pregnancy pounds.

“I was chasing [him] around for my entire pregnancy and then chasing [him] around as soon as I had the baby,” King told PEOPLE at the Michael Kors Gold Fragrance launch party in New York City on Sunday.

While the mom of two also credits Ballet Beautiful and her organic delivery service Paleta for her post-baby body, she says her commitment to healthy eating doesn’t mean she’s dieting.

“I don’t believe in the word diet because I think the word dieting comes with judgment,” King, 36, says. “When I hear the word diet, I want to punch the word in the face because it tells people that you can’t have something. You should be able to have things that love and nourish your body.”